Posts I loved this week

There were so many awesome posts, I actually considered splitting this post into two parts! Like spring’s flowers, these writers are just full of inspiration and great ideas. Personally, I really enjoyed reading them.

Loved this post by Part Time Monster simply because the very first sentence caught me and refused to let go. If it was a book, I’d have to buy it. Loved it that much. Absolutely delicious….And now I want a book to read.

Loved this post by Amos M. Carpenter. It reminded me why I started writing in the first place. Guilt-free writing. Delicious.

Here’s another along the same idea: be true to yourself. Jeff Goins wrote a powerful post on that and still managed to make it easy to read. Loved it.

Motivation to write. I’m always looking for good tips. Here‘s a great post from Think Ink.

Great tips for Twitter. I had no idea the meaning of followers and how many I followed. Suddenly, the numbers have meaning. I owe that to this great post and this one by Sourcerer. Psss, there might be a new series of posts on Twitter coming to Sourcerer soon…Keep reading.

A great cover reveal by Mishka Jenkins in this post along with an excerpt. That’s one awesome cover, Mishka!

Warning…this next post is a little…on the hot side! How to use the five senses to create sexual tension. Read at your own risk. 🙂

Okay, hilarious once again, this post by Outmanned made me laugh out loud. Don’t miss it.

Book recommendations! If you’re looking for summer reading books, here’s a post full of them, and by category no less. A big thank you to Sourcerer for that great post!

I shouldn’t add this post because this blog is a reading/writing/book blog and dogs aren’t a part of that…but I can’t resist. This post is full of dog blogs! Full of them. There’s a list! I just loved that. Doggies…everywhere. 😀

This one is a reflective post on the A to Z challenge. I love reflective posts. What did they learn? What do they regret? What won’t they do again? I particularly liked this post because Gene’O has answered exactly those questions and said what he’s learned and what he’ll avoid in point form. Personal and easy to read. What a great post!

If you’re considering starting your own blog, here‘s a great post on reasons for and against it. A big thank you to Shanan at the Write Conversation for the great post!

Sleep-deprivation and characters

I’ve done it. Notably, I’ve just done it with my current hero, Klias. He’s sleep-deprived in a big way. And still, he handles stressful situations without a hitch. Not a single consequence from his lack of sleep.

Oops.

I’ve noticed it before in books I’ve read. Characters who haven’t slept in days and they still manage to function better than I do with my eight hours. When I don’t get enough sleep, I get crabby and cranky and grumpy…I’m pretty much miserable to be around. A couple of times, when I’ve had insomnia and I haven’t slept at all for a couple of days, I felt like the walking dead. Barely awake, barely able to function. Surprisingly, I was able to get through the day without killing myself or someone else but it was close.

I thought the less sleep I got, the worse I’d be able to function until, eventually, I’d be an eye-twitching, stuttering mess without the ability to tie my own shoes.

So, why how realistic is it for my character to run around in my story with only a couple of hours of rest and still be able to have a sharp mind and quick reflexes?

Skye Fairwin runs this amazing blog that mixes writing and psychology. I love it! Mostly because I’m nosy but also because I wondered just how realistic I was making Klias. As it turns out, most of us can still function with barely any sleep.

You still doubt? Well, here is the article. It’s truly neat because it has the real consequences of sleep-deprivation. Cool, huh?

Here is the site. Love it!

Now, I better head to my book and fix Klias’ reactions before his eye starts twitching…